Tag: rock ‘n’ roll

Below are a few clips of the late Zhang Yu-sheng (1966-1997), a Taiwanese musician who has been my all-time favorite musician, rocker, singer, song-writer, and, above all, my mentor.

He was very talented as a singer-songwriter, but he’s mostly known for his ability to hit ultra high notes, with purity and power at the same time.

It’s a shame that he died young (at the age of 31); while driving on a weary condition, he accidentally hit a traffic island at a high speed. He passed way at the hospital 24 days after. Contrary to what some people think, he did NOT drive under the influence (DUI).

Caveat: All the English translations next to the Chinese titles are mine, i.e. they’re not the official ones (if there’s any).

Hitting high notes (A5)
He is asked to hit some insanely high notes by the hosts. (After hitting the very last note [an A5], he tells the hosts that he used mixed voice to achieve that.)

Xiaobao Lianxiqu (小寶練習曲) (HD)
(This is a recording of his rehearsal at the studio, about 10-minute long. This clip basically gives you an idea of how monstrous his voice was. All of the songs he sings in the clip are his own creations. FYI, Xiaobao [小寶] was his nickname.)
(He starts singing at 2:50.)

Zhang Yu Sheng’s (張雨生) high note compilation (C5 – D#6)

High Notes in Rock: Power, Pt. 2
(Zhang is featured as the last vocalist in this compiliation, indicating that he’s the most impressive vocalist among all the great singers listed in the clip.)

Blow are some of my favorite songs written by Zhang (both lyrics and melodies)
Meigui De Mingzi (玫瑰的名字/The Name of the Rose) (HD)
(This is one of those rare occasions where he uses distortion and heavier sound.)

Live version of Wo Qidai (我期待/I Look Forward To…)
(This live performance truly showcases his mastery of his vocals. The ending is simply incredible and jaw-dropping.)

Xiongdi Ya (兄弟呀/Oh My Brother) (HD)
(This is the song where Zhang famously hits a D#6 [4:08-4:30]. It’s a shame that there’s no live recording of this song.)

Houzhihoujue (後知後覺/When I realize it, it’s too late) (HD)

He (河/The River) (HD)
(What he does during 4:03-4:20 is simply monstrous…)

Younggongjie De Jiezhang (永公街的街長/The Chief of the Younggong Street)
(Though this piece is almost 10-minute long, I am sure you’ll enjoy it all the way. Please note that the section after 8:14 isn’t sung by Zhang himself, but by a Taiwanese female singer called “馬毓芬.” He dedicated the song to the homeless and the mentally challenged, whose suffering he thinks the society is responsible for.)

Heaven On Fire – Metal Kids (HD)
(With this song, Zhang and his bandmates won the first place in the first Rock&Roll band competition held by Yamaha in Taiwan. Metal Kids was the name of his band. It is said that this studio version is a compromised version due to the demand of the label company; the original version was much heavier than this one, but it is unfortunately no where to be found.)

Koushixinfei (口是心非/False Words) full album
(This is arguably his best album, also his last album, with every single song written by himself.)

TV appearances

Live version of Wo Qidai (我期待/I Look Forward To…)
(This live performance truly showcases his mastery of his vocals. The ending is simply incredible and jaw-dropping.)

Speaking of jaw-dropping, his singing did make a grandma drop her jaw. This is one of my favorite clips.
(Starts at 1:02)

A guy looking for singing gigs in the evening or on weekends within or in close proximity of Tokyo, Japan.

Hi there. This is Alvis, a Taiwanese male expected to start a full-time work in Shibuyaku in this coming Aug.

While I do have a full-time job as I said in the beginning, it’s on a contract basis and the hourly wage isn’t very flattering. My work starts from 10 am to 7 pm, almost always from Mon-Fri. And the folks who interviewed me said that working overtime would be a rarity. That kinda makes sense given I’d be paid by the hour. I’ll get a work visa (under the Engineer/Specialist in humanities/International services category) from my company and I’d stay in Tokyo for at least a year (potentially for good!).

In short, due to my future meager income in Tokyo, I am looking for some singing gigs in the evening after my office work to make some pocket money. Any places that I should look into? I am currently still in Taiwan, waiting for my certificate of eligibility that I’d use to apply for a Japanese work visa at the TW-JP office here. If things work out, I should be able to move to Japan in early August. In the meantime, my schedule is rather flexible for a Skype interview. (Skype ID: alvisspeaking)

I’ve always had a burning passion for singing and do frequent karaoke establishments a lot here in Taiwan. On top of it, I’ve entered several singing contests and won the first place most of the time. I prefer and mostly sing hard-rock songs, though I also like and sing ballads and R&B, albeit to a lesser degree.

Just in case language is a relevant factor, I speak very fluent English. Mandarin (aka Chinese), evidently, is my mother tongue, and my Japanese is somewhat lower intermediate.

Apart from my labor of love for learning languages, I also have a burning passion for singing. You can easily find my covers in my YouTube Channel. I often fantasize about becoming the lead singer of a rock band, but now I mostly just quench my thirst for singing at karaoke parlors. Hit me up when you’re in town (I’ll move to Shibuyaku, Tokyo, in August of 2016) and let’s sing our butts off together, won’t cha?

Below are some of my cover songs I recorded at karaoke parlors; the recorder I used was quite good, so I believe the sound quality should be fine, albeit recorded at such imperfect locations. These are mostly hard-rock songs, namely my favorite genre.

Hope you’ll like them!
(Alternately, you can also go to my SoundCloud channel to check them out.

翻唱 第一滴淚－動力火車 My cover of Dìyīdīlèi (the first teardrop) by Power Station